Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007
Latest action · Apr 20, 2007 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 8, 2007
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007 - Amends federal provisions concerning the prosecution of unlawful enemy combatants by U.S. military commissions to, among other things: (1) repeal the authority for civilian trial (prosecution) counsel in a commission proceeding, but authorize civilian military defense counsel; (2) exclude statements made by coercion; (3) authorize the Secretary of Defense to make exceptions to commission procedures and rules of evidence as required by unique circumstances of military or intelligence operations during hostilities; (4) provide for self-representation by the accused, while requiring assistance by military defense counsel; (5) authorize the military judge to dismiss charges or take other action upon a determination that substitute information for classified exculpatory evidence is insufficient to protect the fair trial right of the defendant; (6) require commission decision review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces rather than by the Court of Military Commission Review; (7) provide the scope of review of detention-related decisions; (8) repeal a provision of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 prohibiting invoking the Geneva Conventions (Conventions) or similar protocols in any habeas corpus or other action to which the United States is a party; (9) require the President to notify other parties to the Conventions that the United States expects members of U.S. Armed Forces and other U.S. citizens detained in a conflict not of an international character to be treated in a manner consistent with the Conventions; (10) include as War Crime offenses the denial of trial rights and the imposition of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; (11) restore habeas corpus for individuals detained by the United States; and (12) provide for expedited judicial review of civil actions that challenges any provision of the Military Commissions Act of 2006.
Cosponsors 76
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 8, 2007 to Oct 29, 2007, with 6 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Original | Mar 8, 2007 |
| D-MA | Barney Frank | Original | Mar 8, 2007 |
| D-CA | Jane Harman | Original | Mar 8, 2007 |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Original | Mar 8, 2007 |
| D-MN | Keith Ellison | Original | Mar 8, 2007 |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Original | Mar 8, 2007 |
| D-CA | George Miller | Mar 20, 2007 | |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Mar 20, 2007 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Mar 20, 2007 | |
| D-CA | Linda T. Sánchez | Mar 20, 2007 | |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Mar 20, 2007 | |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Mar 22, 2007 | |
| D-CA | Bob Filner | Mar 22, 2007 | |
| D-AZ | Ed Pastor | Mar 22, 2007 | |
| D-NY | Jose E. Serrano | Mar 22, 2007 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 20, 2007Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
- Mar 8, 2007Introduced in House
- Mar 8, 2007Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 576 | Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007 | Related bill | Sep 17, 2007 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security.
- Appellate courts
- Appellate procedure
- Armed Forces and National Security
- Civil procedure
- Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Congress
- Congress and foreign policy
- Congressional oversight
- Conspiracy
- Constitutional law
- Courts-martial and courts of inquiry
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Criminal procedure
- Discovery (Law)
- District courts
- Due process of law
- Evidence (Law)
- Exclusionary rule (Evidence)
- Government attorneys
- Government Operations and Politics
- Habeas corpus
- Hearsay evidence
- Human rights
- International Affairs
- Iraq compilation
- Judicial review
- Jurisdiction
- Law
- Lawyers
- Presidential powers
- Prisoners of war
- Punishment
- Searches and seizures
- September 11, 2001
- Supreme Court
- Terrorism
- Torture
- Treaties
- War crimes
- Warrants (Law)
- Witnesses
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 8, 2007Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.
